Realtors realize more

Real estate fee revenue up 8.1% to10.6 billion

Real estate agents, brokers, appraisers and other real-estate industries reported total operating revenues of $10.6 billion for 2006, an 8.1 per cent increase from 2005. Statistics Canada says high demand for real estate has boosted both sales and prices despite a slight increase in mortgage rates. The agency’s New Housing Price Index grew 9.7 per cent in 2006, close to five times the rate of inflation. With a 37 per cent increase in operating revenues, Alberta’s real-estate market continued to lead national growth. Manitoba also recorded double-digit annual growth, at 19 per cent. The offices of agents and brokers generated 87 per cent of the country’s total real-estate revenue.

Royal LePage profits up 44%

Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund, a major property brokerage services company that operates through the Royal LePage and other brands, reported its first quarter net profits rose to nearly $1.3 million from $912,000 last year as the company benefited from a robust home selling market that is now starting to moderate. The Toronto-based fund said yesterday it earned 13 cents a unit for the three months ended March 31, up 44 per cent from $912,000 or nine cents a unit for the first quarter of 2007. Royalty revenue rose to nearly $8.1 million from $6.9 million as the company expanded its Royal LePage and La Capitale network by more than 14 per cent.